Carnival Co. & (NYSE:CCL) Upgraded to "Buy" at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Carnival Co. & (NYSE:CCL - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Friday morning.

CCL has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Carnival Co. & from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Tigress Financial reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Carnival Co. & in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Carnival Co. & from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 24th. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Carnival Co. & in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $26.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Carnival Co. & from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $25.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Carnival Co. & currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $26.53.

Carnival Co. & Stock Up 4.1 %

CCL traded up $0.74 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $18.72. 15,892,888 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 26,226,681. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.80. Carnival Co. & has a 1-year low of $13.78 and a 1-year high of $28.72. The stock's 50-day moving average is $20.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.11. The stock has a market cap of $21.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.47, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 2.42.

Carnival Co. & (NYSE:CCL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 21st. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.11. Carnival Co. & had a return on equity of 24.13% and a net margin of 7.66%. The company had revenue of $5.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.14) EPS. Carnival Co. &'s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Carnival Co. & will post 1.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hartford Investment Management Co. boosted its position in Carnival Co. & by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co. now owns 64,231 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,601,000 after acquiring an additional 387 shares during the last quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC increased its holdings in Carnival Co. & by 23.1% in the fourth quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 2,173 shares of the company's stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 408 shares in the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC lifted its stake in Carnival Co. & by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 10,698 shares of the company's stock valued at $267,000 after buying an additional 468 shares during the period. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC grew its position in shares of Carnival Co. & by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 14,917 shares of the company's stock worth $372,000 after buying an additional 475 shares during the period. Finally, Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Carnival Co. & by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 49,108 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,224,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares in the last quarter. 67.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Carnival Co. &

Carnival Corp. engages in the operation of cruise ships. It operates through the following business segments: North America and Australia (NAA) Cruise, Europe and Asia (EA) Cruise Operations, Cruise Support, and Tour and Others. The North America and Australia (NAA) Cruise segment includes the Carnival Cruise Line, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, and Seabourn.